A Delinquent's Tears
by Serene Fairy
Summary: Oga Tatsumi rarely ever cries. But today, he has been weighed down with the guilt of many things. What exactly happened to have hardened him and made him stop crying? What will happen when he's become so burdened with guilt and pain? One-shot, slight Tatsugarde.


**I decided to come up with this little one shot, since I had noticed that we rarely ever see Oga cry in the manga and the anime. So, this idea came up, and, here it is! There is some OOC, but I had to make Oga a bit OOC for this to work. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Beelzebub belongs to Ryuuhei Tamura, not me.**

* * *

**A Delinquent's Tears**

Today was an unusual day in the Oga home. To start off, Oga Tatsumi wasn't in a sour mood when he came down for breakfast. Unlike the usually quick-tempered, angry mood he often showed, he was quieter, more reserved this morning. He ate breakfast wordlessly without any smartmouth comments towards Hilda, which surprised her since she was used to that, and left for school without a word. What was even stranger was that Oga's family also seemed to accept it like it was normal.

At school, Oga was quiet and more reserved, rather than randomly beating up people. However, whenever someone in the special class taunted him, he'd always respond with insults that were usually more harsher and angry. The only one who wasn't fazed by his behaviour was Furuichi. Even the silver-haired boy seemed to be more solemn and quiet, instead of bothering the girls and trying to flirt with them. Baby Beel was very confused by his Daddy's behaviour. He wasn't acting like a ruthless, demonic bastard at all!

"Da buu?" the demon baby cooed curiously in the classroom. Oga shook his head.

"I'm fine, Baby Beel," he said.

"Who're you trying to convince, huh?" Ikari, the leader of the MK5, asked. "You just look as pathetic as ever!"

Said delinquent glared at him. "And you're as pathetic as always, mood killer," he growled, glaring harshly at the MK5, causing them all to wince and tremble in fear.

This continued for the rest of the morning. Lunch came, and Hilda sat with Oga, her Master, and Furuichi. While her master greeted her happily, Hilda noticed that the silver-haired teen didn't greet her enthusiastically like he always did, instead he was more solemn and quieter.

"You forgot the Master's milk again," she scolded Oga as she handed the bag to him. "Honestly, I still don't understand what the Master sees in you."

Right then, Oga stood up, glaring at her. "Give me a break, okay?!" he snarled. "I've had enough of always being on the receiving end of your constant PMSing! I get it! I don't deserve you, I'm a terrible father, I'm weak, I'm not good enough! Cut me some slack for once, and get the hell off my case!"

Hilda had had enough as well. "What the hell's gotten into you?!" she demanded. "Since this morning, you've been acting so different and even more unpleasant, and it just doesn't seem to end! Will you cut it out already?!"

"Da buu…" Baby Beel whimpered, bringing them out of their outbursts. Oga merely glanced at Baby Beel.

"A real man doesn't cry so easily, didn't I tell you that?" he reminded. "You'll come across as weak, otherwise."

Oga turned and walked away, deciding that if he stayed around any longer, he'd end up saying something that would get him killed by the demon maidservant. "Just like Mom…" he muttered under his breath. "Never minding her own business, damn woman."

"I heard that, damn fool."

"Whatever. I'm going home. Furuichi, tell the teacher that I got sick and I decided to go home early."

For the rest of the day, he simply wandered around the Ishiyama Shopping Street, not really doing anything. Soon, he found himself at a cemetery, in front of a certain grave. "Hey, Hashimoto," he greeted quietly.

"It's been a while, hasn't it? How're things in Heaven for you? They'd better have let you into Heaven," Oga continued. "You know, I still had your fifth volume of _Naruto _from that day. When I tried to give it back, your parents told me to keep it. They gave me your entire collection of _Naruto _manga, saying it was what you wanted."

He looked down. "You're not gonna believe this, but I've become the father of a demon baby, who's supposed to destroy humanity," he chuckled wryly. "The maid in charge of the baby on my back is as much of a demon as the baby is. I know you'd think I'm crazy, but it's the truth."

Oga placed some flowers at the grave. "Rest in peace, Hashimoto," he said before leaving the cemetery.

* * *

"What the hell has gotten into that sewer rat?!" Hilda asked in annoyance as she walked back home.

"You should cut him some slack, Hilda-san," Furuichi advised. "Today's kind of a sad day for him, well, for both of us, actually."

Hilda looked at him in surprise. "How come?"

Furuichi sighed. "In our second year of middle school, after Miki had moved, there was another kid who was new in our school. His name was Hashimoto Shiro. It turns out that he was actually a close friend of Oga when he was way younger, and the three of us became very close friends. Everything was great until this particular day."

"What happened?" Hilda asked.

He looked down sadly. "You see… there was a gang fight on this day," he started. "Oga, Hashimoto, and I somehow got involved in the fight. I forget the reason why, but I remember that at one point, one of the kids brought out a knife and tried to stab Oga. I was on the other side, dealing with some other kids, and Hashimoto stepped in his way, taking the knife attack."

Hilda looked surprised. "He took the stab?"

He nodded. "That sudden stabbing ended the fight. However, Hashimoto had died by the time the ambulance came. Oga's been blaming himself for his death since then. That was the last time I ever saw him cry for real. He believes that if he hadn't accepted the challenge, then Hashimoto would've still been alive. For three years, he's been living with the guilt of Hashimoto's death."

"So, today's the anniversary of this kid's death," Hilda realized.

Furuichi nodded. "That's why Oga's been acting like this," he stated. "He's never cried since the funeral. After Hashimoto's funeral, he suppressed his feelings, stating that a real man will never show feelings so openly. However, I don't think it's healthy for him. Knowing him, he's probably going to end up destroying his own room out of guilt."

Hilda slowly nodded her head. "I see," she murmured. "I apologize for the loss of your friend. Now, I'll have to talk some sense into that fool." With that, she hurried off to Oga's home.

* * *

"Leave me alone!" Oga shouted at his father. He had simply stated that he didn't want to talk, but they wouldn't listen. _Why can't they leave me alone, dammit?! _Everyone at the dinner table stopped eating as they watched the delinquent stand up from his barely touched food.

"Tatsumi…" his mother said softly, but Oga pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose, glaring at his family.

"I don't want to talk," he snarled. "Why can't you leave me alone?!"

"This is about Hashimoto's death, isn't it?" Misaki asked. Oga stared in shock at his older sister.

"How the hell did you know?" he whispered, shocked. "Who told you?"

Misaki sighed. "Hilda told us," she said. "We were getting worried, Tatsumi. You can't just expect us not to notice. You should've told us about how you were blaming yourself."

"Well, I don't want to talk about it!" Oga snapped. "What part of that don't you guys get?! And you!" He turned to Hilda. "Who told you about it?! Huh?!"

"Furuichi did," Hilda stated calmly. "Your behaviour was worrying me, so I simply wanted to find out what was causing this. You were worrying the Master especially."

Right then, several different emotions crossed his face before he picked a confused Baby Beel up from his chair and rushed up to his room. His mother sighed. "Poor thing," she said sadly. "I never even knew how much Tatsumi had been blaming himself. All I know is that Hashimoto's death hardened him so much, I can't even believe he's my son."

"Before his friend's death, Tatsumi used to be a lot easier to handle and he smiled a lot more," Misaki said. "After this, he just… stopped showing any emotion, the only emotion he really showed was anger. I can't believe he had simply suppressed all these emotions all this time."

Hilda looked down. Now that she knew about this, she had a completely different view on her master's contractor. Oga wasn't just a stupid human being. He had seen a good friend die in front of his very eyes when he was only in middle school, and since then, he hadn't stopped blaming himself for three years. She took pity on Oga as she remembered what he was like after she had been stabbed by Hecadoth. He had taken that incident personally, but he never showed the worry and concern he had felt towards her. "I'll go talk to him," she said as she walked upstairs.

* * *

The memories were coming back to Oga. Memories of that fight. When that kid was about to stab him, but Hashimoto had jumped in front of him, taking the stab. How he and Furuichi had stayed by Hashimoto's side as they waited for the ambulance. How devastated they were when he had been declared DOA. How much he had tried not to cry at Hashimoto's funeral, but broke down in tears. His thoughts were interrupted by the demon maidservant.

"What do you want?" he asked, his voice sounding pained.

"Look at me." This was a tone that he never heard from Hilda before. He turned around, his eyes showing true pain and sadness. Hilda was looking at him with a slightly stern face. However, her eye was soft as she started to speak.

"You always tell the Master that a real man doesn't cry, right? Well, a real man shows emotions when needed. A real man cries when he feels true sadness and pain, and he can't hold it in anymore. You've been holding in three years' worth of sadness, pain, and guilt for something that wasn't even your fault. Your friend's death was beyond your control, and you shouldn't be blaming yourself for it. Let go of this sadness now, Oga. You are a man who is worthy of being the Master's contractor, and you have done well in protecting him. You're the only parent he has in the human world, after all."

Right then, Oga couldn't hold it in anymore. He collapsed onto his knees, shaking as a tear rolled down his cheek, followed by many more. Soon, the first sob tore from his mouth, and for the first time in three years, Oga Tatsumi cried. The guilt and pain that had been eating away at him was all let out as he continued to sob truly hurt, sad sobs. _I'm so sorry, Hashimoto… I'm so sorry… _

Hilda gently touched his shoulders and Baby Beel held onto him. Before she realized, Oga suddenly wrapped his arms around her, burying his face into her hair to try and muffle his crying. "I… I couldn't protect him…" he sobbed. "It's all because I'm not strong…" She held onto him, continuing to console him.

"Don't blame yourself, Tatsumi," Hilda said soothingly, his own vulnerability saddening her.

"It's not just him I failed…" Oga whispered through sobs. "I failed Baby Beel… I failed you… I failed everyone… I couldn't save you from Sodom… I can't protect Beel…"

Her eyes widened slightly. Was he also feeling guilt for when she was nearly swallowed by Sodom? Were all these incidents combined with the guilt of his friend's death creating such an emotional turmoil within him that he's actually started doubting himself? "You fool…" she whispered. "This isn't like the Oga Tatsumi I know."

He looked up at her through his tear-filled eyes. Hilda gave him a soft smile. "You are strong and a great contractor, Tatsumi, and I like that. I admire how sincere you are in protecting the Master, and I'm grateful that you saved me from Sodom, and helped me get my memories back. Don't ever blame yourself for this. As for Hashimoto, I'll bet he'd be proud of you. I'm proud of you, Tatsumi."

"Da bu…" Beel cooed.

"Even the Master agrees."

Oga wiped away his tears. "R-Really?" he asked. Hilda nodded, smiling.

"Yes," she whispered. Before she even realized it, she gave him a peck on the cheek, making the delinquent blush slightly.

Hilda smiled at this. _He's actually pretty cute when he's blushing… _She stood up and was about to leave the room when she felt his arms being wrapped around her waist.

"Thank you, Hilda," he whispered hoarsely into her ear as he turned her around and hugged her. "For everything." He felt so much more free, like a large weight had been removed from his shoulder.

Right then, Oga did something he thought he'd never do. He planted a gentle kiss on Hilda's forehead and gently ruffled Baby Beel's hair as the family of three stood in his room, embracing each other warmly.


End file.
